Have you ordered an 8.5 ?

[Guzzle]

Still a completely ludicrous £1,285 over here.

Also, no alloy wheel upgrade for the GTE!?!

[Sharpe]

Well I took delivery Monday after work. Had it for 48 hours before taking it in for Gtechniq ceramic coating. Also had them debadge the GTI logos from the doors and boot. Got it back this afternoon looking how it should do from the dealers.
 Only done 40 miles so far, feels a world away from my Transporter - haven’t driven a car in 6 years! Van being sold next week hopefully to pay off the bulk of the finance

[Carlosfandango]

Looks superb👌, I too will be removing the GTI badge from the doors when mine arrives.

[Sharpe]

They didn’t look as bad in the flesh, but still not keen. The boot badge was ok, but think I may replace with a black GTI badge and matching black rear VW overlay badge

I’ve kept them in a little bag for when the time comes to sell or trade in

[WelshGolf]

Clubsport is built. Let's see when it arrives now as apparently they are still holding petrol cars at the docks so they can hit their electric car quota.

[Carlosfandango]

Clubsport is built. Let's see when it arrives now as apparently they are still holding petrol cars at the docks so they can hit their electric car quota.

My GTI is now at the dock awaiting release to shipping, the dealer has said it will be here this month. Hopefully they are correct!🤞

I’m not sure leaving ICE cars at the dock and sending EV’s is quite how the ‘quota’ system works! I do know however, that recent holdups at Emden were down to insufficient shipping allocations, this has apparently been resolved, and all vehicles are now moving through the system as they should.

[WelshGolf]

Clubsport is built. Let's see when it arrives now as apparently they are still holding petrol cars at the docks so they can hit their electric car quota.

My GTI is now at the dock awaiting release to shipping, the dealer has said it will be here this month. Hopefully they are correct!🤞

I’m not sure leaving ICE cars at the dock and sending EV’s is quite how the ‘quota’ system works! I do know however, that recent holdups at Emden were down to insufficient shipping allocations, this has apparently been resolved, and all vehicles are now moving through the system as they should.

No I didn't think it was right either, I assume that their quota numbers would be when cars are signed off in the factory. Why even put ICE cars on the production line if they need to keep the numbers down, they could just spread the builds out. Unless they build them to give false hope to customers then blame shipping for the delay, then they are signed off as 'built' when they leave the dock.

[SRGTD]

Clubsport is built. Let's see when it arrives now as apparently they are still holding petrol cars at the docks so they can hit their electric car quota.

My GTI is now at the dock awaiting release to shipping, the dealer has said it will be here this month. Hopefully they are correct!🤞

I’m not sure leaving ICE cars at the dock and sending EV’s is quite how the ‘quota’ system works! I do know however, that recent holdups at Emden were down to insufficient shipping allocations, this has apparently been resolved, and all vehicles are now moving through the system as they should.

No I didn't think it was right either, I assume that their quota numbers would be when cars are signed off in the factory. Why even put ICE cars on the production line if they need to keep the numbers down, they could just spread the builds out. Unless they build them to give false hope to customers then blame shipping for the delay, then they are signed off as 'built' when they leave the dock.

I think it’s more likely they would either delay the build of ICE cars or scale back ICE car production in order to reduce the risk of not hitting the BEV quota under the EU Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Apologies but I’m about to go off topic, although IMHO it is a relevant issue as the ZEV mandate does have an impact on ICE production.

On the subject of the ZEV mandate, if a car manufacturer fails to hit the BEV sales quota, then they’ll be hit with a sizeable fine; £15k per non-compliant car sold over the limit. I’m assuming a non compliant car anything that’s not is a BEV. By default, if the 2024 EV quota is 22% then the non-EV quota is 78%. The BEV quota increases year on year and is to be 80% 2030 before becoming 100% in 2035.

https://www.fleeteurope.com/en/new-energies/europe/article/11-oems-demand-more-uk-government-support-evs?

So it’s going to become increasingly challenging for car manufacturers to hit the BEV quota, if - as it currently seems - there’s little appetite by consumers to buy a BEV. Because of the mandate, car manufacturers will be compelled to build more BEV’s but may have to offer sizeable discounts and large finance contributions, along with other incentives such as low APR’s, free servicing and longer warranties to be able to sell them. If so, then that increases the likelihood of them making a loss on each BEV sold, and that’s a financially unsustainable position in anything other than the short term. Heavy discounting also impacts residual values of BEV’s which is bad news for existing owners.

Interesting video at the link below from Petrol Ped’s YouTube channel which is worth a watch. He talks through the issues facing car manufacturers with the transition to 100% BEV production by 2035 for the UK market and many other markets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IqJMC2bwW4

Once again, apologies for going off topic .

[Exonian]

Unfortunately it’s still hideously expensive to buy a BEV and most will be victims of the £40k tax over the next couple years.
It’s far from just a UK thing as I’ve watched a few Euro magazine style programs on the subject from the likes of Arte and DW News (English language versions) on YouTube.
EV sales suddenly fell off a cliff almost overnight with the exception of salary sacrifice and company cars. It happened so quickly I suspect other political forces were at play.

There are a few smaller BEV’s coming to the market soon at long last to give us a break from the zillion SUV’s. Let’s hope they’re actually affordable and fun to drive. £40k for a MINi? Maybe not, but the Renault 5 and small VW group cars might actually pose a challenge as to the “what to buy next?” question

Conspiracy theories aside and back on the subject of GTI’s - I literally just saw my first 8.5 GTI on a dark country road and the light up badge does look pretty cool 

[SRGTD]

@Exonian; I’m not a big fan of the illuminated front VW badge but then we all like different things. If it does look cool, then that goes some way to off-setting the weird positioning of the front door mounted GTI badges.

Yes, small desirable BEV’s have been few and far between, and I agree; £40k for a Mini is just too much. If I was considering a small EV in the near future for my next car, the Renault 5 would be a serious contender. I think Renault have done a brilliant job with the design; it’s modern but IMHO unmistakably a Renault 5. And it’s great that the production car is hardly changed from the original concept car. I think I’d pass on the optional baguette holder though………